Once I noticed a couple who took their bikes on the light-rail to Hunt Valley and found out that they were on the way to the Northern Centrail Railroad Trail. Immediately intrigued by the prospect of riding a beautiful trail outside of the city I decided to follow their example and take my bike on the light-rail myself.
The Northern Central Railroad Trail once used to be a railroad track. After it retired from any train traffic it was transformed into a really long and very beautiful hiking and biking trail. The map includes the route to the light-rail station, the light-rail from the Mount Royal stop to Hunt Valley Mall, as well as the segment between Hunt Valley Mall and the trail entrance.
The plan sounded great, and the trail was indeed very beautiful to ride, but it turned out to be a nightmare to get from Hunt Valley Mall to the trail entrance. The streets were very busy and very hard to oversee, the traffic was very fast and without any sidewalks and bike-lanes it felt very unsafe and dangerous to approach the entrance. Despite the traffic lights it felt impossible to cross the streets. The Ashland Road segment had a very bad sight line. With the fast and unpredictable traffic I was afraid a car could shoot out from behind and notice me too late.
I marked those spots on the map. It was obvious that you were expected to drive a car in order to ride a bicycle. It’s a shame… I would love to visit the railroad trail more often, but getting there just was too dangerous. I wonder if there are other ways from Hunt Valley Mall, or different entrances that are easier and safer to reach.
